"Carl's Lounge" (Off-Topic Discussion, Traditional Knife "Tales & Vignettes")

[Prester John]

Whenever you make a geographical move, even if in the same country, you can never return to where you left, because things evolve and change on a daily basis, so when years pass, upon returning to former stomping grounds, they are invariably changed and alien to the returnee...I have experienced this with my home town, some 900 miles from where I now live. You can return, but you can never go back...

Even in the same town. I live 12 miles from where I grew up (but in the same city), and it's the same for me.

 

[waynorth]

Thanks Vince.
His passing triggered memories and experiences of growing up, which then lead you to more memories and before you know it you suddenly feel very homesick for a home that does not exist anymore in the way your mind envisions it ... as a lot of things I am sure have changed in 3 decades.

I think every immigrant gets this feeling once in while.

I would love to one day go back for a visit.

When I go back to Buffalo (I should say WENT back in better times and conditions!), it is bittersweet. Nothing is really the same, but memories flood in! Overall I left to improve my life, and that has been accomplished IMO. But friends and family "back home" are still dear to me, as they are here on the west coast!

 

[5K Qs]

Im reminded of Georgie Bests response when ask what he did with all the money he made....I spent most of it on fast cars and loose women, the rest I squandered.

I think I've seen you post this somewhere before, meako , and it's a wonderfully entertaining quote!

- GT

 

[5K Qs]

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I know I don't post much but I visit pretty much every day.

I am well past my knife buying days but still carrying and using some of my favorites. The Buck forum knife gets some good use, my old Case Small Tx Jack, couple of Case Stockman patterns, of course my beloved Victorinox Alox Cadet is usually within reach.

2020 has really taken the wind out of my sails and the twinkle out of my eye. It's always nice to stop in here, and see all the familiar names and faces. It makes me feel like there are a bunch of old friends who kept a chair set out for me.

Have fun and spend time with your family and friends if you can during these holidays. My job is in senior technical support for a fairly large company that does an awful lot of business this time of year, so after this one day of taking a breath, it is a non-stop sprint for me until I and the other elves get Santa's sleigh loaded up. If you are in the same boat, my sympathies! If not, enjoy the time and the season! I look forward to retirement some day (5 years from now if things go well) and maybe I will view the holidays as fun and not work.

Great to see you check in, John!
I think of you as one of the leading "voices of reason" on The Porch.
I hope your year-end rush isn't too frustrating and exhausting, and that you'll even get some unexpected time to relax here and there. And I certainly hope you get the twinkle back in your eye by this time next year!

- GT

 

[screened porch]

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I know I don't post much but I visit pretty much every day.

I am well past my knife buying days but still carrying and using some of my favorites. The Buck forum knife gets some good use, my old Case Small Tx Jack, couple of Case Stockman patterns, of course my beloved Victorinox Alox Cadet is usually within reach.

2020 has really taken the wind out of my sails and the twinkle out of my eye. It's always nice to stop in here, and see all the familiar names and faces. It makes me feel like there are a bunch of old friends who kept a chair set out for me.

Have fun and spend time with your family and friends if you can during these holidays. My job is in senior technical support for a fairly large company that does an awful lot of business this time of year, so after this one day of taking a breath, it is a non-stop sprint for me until I and the other elves get Santa's sleigh loaded up. If you are in the same boat, my sympathies! If not, enjoy the time and the season! I look forward to retirement some day (5 years from now if things go well) and maybe I will view the holidays as fun and not work.

Thank you for your elfin efforts!

 

[Jack Black]

When I go back to Buffalo (I should say WENT back in better times and conditions!), it is bittersweet. Nothing is really the same, but memories flood in! Overall I left to improve my life, and that has been accomplished IMO. But friends and family "back home" are still dear to me, as they are here on the west coast!

I know it's not that far away from where I live now, but I feel exactly the same when I visit Sheffield, particularly the neighbourhood where I grew up, which has changed massively

 

[knarfeng]

Heh. I literally can't go home again. Somebody bought the house I grew up in, tore it down, split the lot, and built two new houses. Even the address doesn't exist anymore.

 

[jc57]

My childhood home is still there, about a 15-20 minute drive away. I rarely drive past it any more, though I used to. All of the friends, family and neighbors, as well as the child and teenager I once was who lived there, are long gone.

I used to like to go back to my old college (about a 4 hour drive away) but again, all of the things that made it special at the time, are gone. The buildings are still there, some things have changed, a LOT has changed in the surrounding areas. But it's not the late 1970s, which is when I was there, and I am just a stranger wandering through.

Those places we all want to revisit, were really a bubble in time, filled with people, experiences, and feelings that can't be recaptured.

 

[OzzPrime]

I bought and live in my parents’ house, that they built the year before I was born. I’ve lived in Russia and Brooklyn, driven across this country and visited many more, and I am literally right back where I started.

In my case my hometown is pretty much the same, aside from regular changes since the 70s, it’s me that’s done the changing. Like walking a labyrinth to the middle and out again: you end up where you began, but hopefully there was growth along the way.

 

[Will Power]

I think I've seen you post this somewhere before, meako , and it's a wonderfully entertaining quote!

- GT

It's a pity he squandered his chance at life again after going back on the drink after his liver transplant. He had very real talent, was very good looking and yet it ended so sadly, like with many sports stars.

 

[Misplaced Hillbilly]

While out and about today I stopped at a large shoe and apparel discount place to look around. Well they was having a big sale but the real bargain was on shelves around the perimeter walls. Lots of different brands and styles of boots and shoes for "buy one,get one free". Being the deal hunter I am and even though I really didn't NEED a pair of boots let alone 2 pair, I just couldn't pass it up. Bought 2 pair of Double-H brand boots for $160. Now maybe a bit late to worry about if they're good boots or not, I still want to know if anyone here has experience with Double-H? One thing I like is they're USA made,and I wore one pair the rest of the day and they are surprisingly comfortable right outta the box

 

[screened porch]

I've been trying to find the New Yorker cartoon where a guy comes in and shuts the door, and says something to the effect of, "I'm home, proving once again that Thomas Mann is full of it".

 

[Grateful]

While out and about today I stopped at a large shoe and apparel discount place to look around. Well they was having a big sale but the real bargain was on shelves around the perimeter walls. Lots of different brands and styles of boots and shoes for "buy one,get one free". Being the deal hunter I am and even though I really didn't NEED a pair of boots let alone 2 pair, I just couldn't pass it up. Bought 2 pair of Double-H brand boots for $160. Now maybe a bit late to worry about if they're good boots or not, I still want to know if anyone here has experience with Double-H? One thing I like is they're USA made,and I wore one pair the rest of the day and they are surprisingly comfortable right outta the box

I wore them 20 years ago and they were really good boots back then. I can’t comment on the current ones being made but I still see lots of farmers and ranchers around here wearing them.

 

[screened porch]

While out and about today I stopped at a large shoe and apparel discount place to look around. Well they was having a big sale but the real bargain was on shelves around the perimeter walls. Lots of different brands and styles of boots and shoes for "buy one,get one free". Being the deal hunter I am and even though I really didn't NEED a pair of boots let alone 2 pair, I just couldn't pass it up. Bought 2 pair of Double-H brand boots for $160. Now maybe a bit late to worry about if they're good boots or not, I still want to know if anyone here has experience with Double-H? One thing I like is they're USA made,and I wore one pair the rest of the day and they are surprisingly comfortable right outta the box

I like the soles. Let us know.

 

[Misplaced Hillbilly]

I like the soles. Let us know.

Honestly the soles on one pair is the biggest reason I bought them, outside of my work boots my other cowboy boots are pretty much flat bottomed. I wanted a nice pair with traction for more inclement weather.

Think these will do nicely

 

[JohnDF]

They've been around a long time and seem like good quality.
I've never owned a pair, I like Ariat and justin brands, but I'm sure HH will hold up well.

 

[Dav(id)03]

My childhood home is still there, about a 15-20 minute drive away. I rarely drive past it any more, though I used to. All of the friends, family and neighbors, as well as the child and teenager I once was who lived there, are long gone.

I used to like to go back to my old college (about a 4 hour drive away) but again, all of the things that made it special at the time, are gone. The buildings are still there, some things have changed, a LOT has changed in the surrounding areas. But it's not the late 1970s, which is when I was there, and I am just a stranger wandering through.

Those places we all want to revisit, were really a bubble in time, filled with people, experiences, and feelings that can't be recaptured.

best to appreciate the bubble we are all in now, no matter what it’s perceived hardship or comfort. We will undoubtedly look back with wiser eyes and pick all the could haves and should haves in corners that were so perfectly hidden at the time. All these are chapters to a memoir we leave...

 

[meako]

I like em .. Misplaced Hillbilly Dave...they look cool AND best of all seem to resemble the shape of human foot....

 

[5K Qs]

While out and about today I stopped at a large shoe and apparel discount place to look around. Well they was having a big sale but the real bargain was on shelves around the perimeter walls. Lots of different brands and styles of boots and shoes for "buy one,get one free". Being the deal hunter I am and even though I really didn't NEED a pair of boots let alone 2 pair, I just couldn't pass it up. Bought 2 pair of Double-H brand boots for $160. Now maybe a bit late to worry about if they're good boots or not, I still want to know if anyone here has experience with Double-H? One thing I like is they're USA made,and I wore one pair the rest of the day and they are surprisingly comfortable right outta the box

Enjoy your new boots, David; sounds like you got a good deal!
I can't give you any data about the brand. In fact, although I'm closing in on 69 years old, and almost never go barefoot, I don't think I've ever worn a pair of "cowboy boots" in my life! I've worn almost every other common style of shoes at least occasionally, but growing up on a dairy farm I always wore lace-up high-top work boots. As an adult, work boots or hunting boots, often insulated, are what I've typically worn during the winter.

- GT

 

[Prester John]

Enjoy your new boots, David; sounds like you got a good deal!
I can't give you any data about the brand. In fact, although I'm closing in on 69 years old, and almost never go barefoot, I don't think I've ever worn a pair of "cowboy boots" in my life! I've worn almost every other common style of shoes at least occasionally, but growing up on a dairy farm I always wore lace-up high-top work boots. As an adult, work boots or hunting boots, often insulated, are what I've typically worn during the winter.

- GT

Cowboy boots are awesome, Gary. I wore them when very young and now (just a few years behind you). As Merle Haggard sang: "Leather boots still make for manly footwear....". I must admit, a soft moccasin is more comfortable. My most comfortable shoes are a pair of custom made deerskin moccasins, and I often wear sandals around the house.